


The Forty-second Time's The Charm

by gekidasa



Category: Kamen Rider Ryuki | Masked Rider Ryuki
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-23
Updated: 2009-10-23
Packaged: 2017-10-09 02:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/82029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gekidasa/pseuds/gekidasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiko doesn't say no the forty-second time Kitaoka asks her out. :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Forty-second Time's The Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Movie continuity (spoilers between the lines, not obvious). My take on what happenes to Kitaoka and Reiko, since the movie didn't say either way. Comments are appreciated.

_-Reiko side-_

She'd turned Kitaoka down countless times. Forty-one times, to be exact, at least according to Kitaoka himself. She couldn't have said if this was correct or not, her own guess of thirty eight had been a stab in the dark. But something in his voice as he'd corrected her told her it was, and that he remembered each and every one.

It gave her pause, the undefinable something in his voice, that and the idea that he kept count. She would never have expected that someone as conceited as Kitaoka would not only keep track of how many times he was rejected, but keep asking even though he was unlikely to get a different answer.

Reiko furrowed her brow briefly, not sure how to reply now, the forty-second time he asked. Somehow, another "no" seemed petty and pointless.

"Well then. I'll be waiting." Kitaoka's voice sounded softer and more intense at the same time. She could imagine him leaning forward on his desk's chair, an earnest look in his eyes. "Six o'clock at Le Croc."

She almost frowned again, there was something behind the words, something he wasn't saying. He wasn't pleading for her to come, but despite the calm tone she got the feeling that it was important this time.

It was a few seconds before she realized that she was supposed to respond.

"All right, if I feel like it." She conditioned it, because she wasn't about to let him get the upper hand. Then she hung up the phone, satisfied that this round had turned out the way it had, even if it had been so unusual.

Rather uncharacteristically for her, Reiko didn't really concentrate very well on her work for the remainder of the afternoon.

Ten minutes after Kitaoka's call, she had stopped writing in favor of chewing the back of a pen, as she wondered whether Kitaoka _really_ expected her to meet him for dinner.

Fifteen minutes after the call, she was wondering how long he would wait if she didn't show up. Ten minutes? Twenty? Half an hour? She turned back to her computer, guessing that forty five would be the limit between self-delusion and allowing his ego further humiliation.

_Am I actually planning to stand him up? _

Her fingers froze over the keys.

"I didn't say yes," she said under her breath.

"What's that, Reiko?" Okubo, Ore Journal's editor in chief, replied, looking confused.

"Nothing... never mind."

It didn't take long for her to admit to herself that she wasn't going to leave anyone waiting for her, whether it was Kitaoka or anyone else. She hadn't done something so petty and childish since... well, since she'd stood Kitaoka up earlier in the year. But he'd had it coming, both for banning Ore Journal from the Sakaura press conference and then taunting her about it, and for what he'd almost done to Shinji when he was detained. But aside from that, she hadn't stood anyone up since her university years, she wasn't about to backtrack now. Kitaoka didn't really deserve it _this_ time.

Besides, she didn't have to stay long and she could use the opportunity to tell him in no uncertain terms to give up on her once and for all. It was getting to the point where she was almost embarrassed on his behalf.

_That settles it then. I'll meet him, have one drink and explain to him that nothing will ever happen between us and that he needs to stop. Then I'll leave._

She nodded to herself resolutely, then noticed the strange look Shimada gave her in reaction. She sat up straighter, turning back to her computer, silently blaming Kitaoka for making her waste time thinking about something this ridiculous. The man was truly irritating.

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident; even Kido-kun was exceptionally quiet and subdued. It was as if the world itself was on hold, waiting for something to happen. Something big, obviously, nothing at all to do with a certain infuriating lawyer.

The familiar notes of the hourly English-language newscast started promptly at five, just as she took out her compact mirror and started touching up her makeup. She would have to leave within the next 5 or 10 minutes in order to make it to Le Croc on time. It was just like Kitaoka to make her rush across Tokyo just so he could dazzle her with dinner at an over-priced restaurant, she thought, unconscious of the small smile tugging at her lips at the thought. Editor Okubo, however, did notice, and remarked teasingly on how happy she seemed. She blew off the comment, hastening to finish up and gather up her things before making her escape.

It took her an hour to get from Ore Journal's office to Le Croc. By the time she arrived it was ten minutes past six, in spite of the fact that she'd hurried more than she cared to admit, and she paused outside to compose herself and check her hair in the window. That was when she saw Kitaoka inside, sipping from a glass of red wine. He sat facing in the direction of the door, and as she watched unobserved he checked the time on his wristwatch. She couldn't read the expression on his face from this distance, but she clearly saw him sigh and lean back in his chair, eyes towards the door again.

It occurred to her that this was her last chance to back out, to call him and say she'd been held up at work, or to simply turn and walk away without him ever knowing she'd actually come and stood there, watching him wait for her. It wasn't as if she actually thought being stood up by her would bruise his ego -- she wasn't the conceited one between the two of them, after all. He'd probably just call tomorrow and cajole and try to make her feel guilty about it. It would all be part of the game.

Instead she stood up straighter, squaring her shoulders, and after one last glance at her reflection in the mirror, she walked to the door and went inside. Kitaoka caught sight of her immediately, a smile breaking over his face as he stood up while the hostess at the door noticed and indicated that Reiko should join him.

"Reiko-san," he greeted her, taking her hand bowing before pulling the chair out for her. He took his seat again across the small, cozy table. "I was starting to wonder if you'd stand me up. Again."

She lifted an eyebrow at that, but his eyes were clear and unfazed as he met hers.

"Don't think I didn't consider it, Kitaoka-san," she said in a honeyed tone.

"But you didn't, and that's all that matters to me right now," his voice sounded like it had this afternoon on the phone. He took the single red rose that had been waiting by his hand and held it out to her. "I hope you don't find a red rose too presumptuous."

"Presumptuous, you?" her tone was tart, but she smiled a little as she took the flower. "Surely you must joking."

"I considered getting a different color, but Goro-chan objected."

"What color was that?" she asked.

"It doesn't really matter now," he replied, a faraway look fleeting across his eyes for a moment.

Once again convinced that there was something behind the tone, Reiko drew in a breath then leaned forward. She was first and foremost a journalist, and curiosity was tugging at her. She was just about to ask him what was going on, when a waiter approached their table. By the time he'd left, Kitaoka was back to his usual flippantly charming self. Very briefly Reiko reflected on the fact that 6 months ago she probably would not have described him as charming. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot the two of them, but since then... it wasn't that she found the way he conducted business any less reprehensible, or that she didn't think he was manipulative and and an opportunist, but sometimes, he wasn't so bad. He was intelligent and could be good company, she thought, barely registering whatever it was he was talking about.

"...Reiko-san?"

"....Hmmm? I'm sorry?"

"Weren't you listening to me, Reiko-san? Don't tell me I'm boring you!" he exclaimed, mock dismay written all over his face, to be replaced almost immediately by a sly smile as he leaned forward, taking her hand before she could pull way. "Or maybe you're just distracted from staring at me?"

She almost flushed in surprise before pulling her hand away "Don't flatter yourself. If I wanted to stare at you, I could have just kept that poster of yourself you sent me months ago."

He froze for a moment at that and she wondered briefly if she shouldn't have brought it up. But then he pursed his lips and leaned forward again, idly running a finger over the edge of his wineglass.

"Ah yes. That. You know, I actually had Goro-chan do a photo session specially for it? We worked so hard, only to have you return it like you did."

She didn't really trust herself to answer that, so she just let him go on speaking.

"It was a horrible ordeal, detaching it from my windshield. So inconvenient... it ripped in about 3 pieces," he paused, met her eyes and obviously held back a smile before continuing. "Poor Goro-chan, it took him a whole afternoon to tape it up properly."

She bit back an answering smile. "Oh, that's a lie. You did not make him do that."

"Of course I did. I still have it, it's on the inside of the door to my lavatory."

Reiko just stared at him for a moment, not quite believing he'd said that, before bursting into gales of helpless laughter that drew stares from Le Croc's generally quiet, elegant clientele.

"You're lying," she managed finally, as the laughter started to subside. "I know you are."

"You're right, I am. But it was worth it to make you laugh, Reiko-san."

. . .

Reiko didn't move or speak for a moment after Kitaoka parked his car in front of her apartment complex. She realized, sitting there, that the evening hadn't gone at all how she'd imagined, much less how she'd planned. She hadn't had just one drink, and the thought of doing what she'd planned and explaining that nothing would ever happen between them couldn't have been further from her mind. But beyond that, she'd enjoyed it, every minute of it, right up to the sometimes biting banter that had gone from antagonistic to playful at some point during the past months.

He was still the same infuriating Kitaoka Shuuichi... but he'd made her laugh, more than once, and now she could admit he was charming.

"Reiko-san?"

"Don't even think of saying it, I'm not staring at you."

He laughed briefly before opening his door. "Ill get the door for you, Reiko-san."

Definitely charming, she thought, as he held the door open for her and helped her out of the car, then walked her to her front door. They stopped there, and she looked up at him, not exactly sure what she wanted to happen now.

"Thank you for dinner," she said. "I had fun."

"Thank _you_ for... not saying no this time," he replied.

He paused then, hesitated even, before he leaned down to brush his lips over her cheek... just as she turned her face, so his kiss landed the corner of her lips instead of her cheek. She drew in a breath in surprise, and he pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. Neither Kitaoka nor Reiko said anything then, she simply parted her lips as he leaned closer and kissed her again.

 

_**  
**-Kitaoka side-_

Kitaoka sat in his car for a minute before starting the engine. It had gone better than he had expected, he thought. He looked down at his right palm, then closed his fist slowly, as if he were trying to catch and hold something in his hand.

_It really is all right... it's enough. But I certainly wouldn't say no to a little more, if I still have time._  
 

[ ](http://www.statcounter.com/free_hit_counter.html)


End file.
